Changing Perceptions
by princessoffairies
Summary: This is a Escaflowne high school fic.  Hitomi moves to Gaea to Van's school and lets just say they make quite an impression on each other.  However they find out perceptions can change...will probably contain lots of fluff later.
1. Chapter 1

Hello there everyone. This is my first ever fanfic. I'll give you a bit of background information about the story. Hitomi is moving to a new school after her dad is transferred from Mystic Moon City to Gaea. And guess who goes to this new school?

Changing Perceptions Chapter 1

Hitomi Kanzaki took a deep breath and readied herself before opening the car door. She got out and stood looking at the huge sign near the car park. It read 'THE CO-EDUCATIONAL HIGHSCHOOL OF GAEA' in deep blue 3-D letters. Below the 3-D lettering was the logo; a blue sphere with varying shades of blue and in the centre was an intricate red dragon breathing fire, his wings outstretched. _This was it. This would be her new life, in a new city in a new school._

'Hitomi,' said her mother. The teenager looked back towards her mother who had climbed out the small car.

'Yes Mom?' she questioned.

'Are you sure you're ready? I mean I know it's a big change moving from Mystic Moon City but with your dad's transfer and-'she began before she was abruptly cut-off by her daughter.

'Mom I am fine and I'll be fine. I mean its just a highschool and even if its not perfect it's only three years which is a small percentage of the average 84-year life expectancy.' She did a calculation in her head. 'It would be one twenty-eighth of the average life, which would be less than 4 percent.'

'Hitomi, be serious.'

'OK, well I am hoping it will be nice. I do want to do well and find good friends. And I hope that they've got a good track team,' she said a little more thoughtfully.

'I'm sure they'll love you, you just be yourself honey and I'll see you tonight,' said her mother as she gave her a huge hug.

'Right, bye mom,' said Hitomi as she slung her backpack and duffel bag over her shoulder.

'Bye sweetie.'

(Several parking spaces away)

A silver Porsche stopped. Folken swung the keys around his finger, as he looked critically at his little brother.

'Van you didn't think to run a comb through your hair? On your first day of sophomore year as well? What will they think of you?'

Van glared at his older brother. 'What they already think of me from last year. I hope mom didn't instruct you to have a Folken-Van pep talk with me.'

Folken sighed. 'Van, these years can make or break a person's life. You have to build a strong foundation for yourself before you can go on to bigger and better things. You want to get into a good college right? And have a decent job? Then you have to understand that your education is really important. Also try not to get into fisticuffs with the Albatou kid again.'

Van-who for the duration of Folken's little motivational speech was staring at the floor of the car as if it were the most fascinating thing he had ever seen in his life- raised his head and perked up.

'Dilandau is crazy. Completely off his rocker. And anyway we've hated each other for years. We're like Clark Kent and Lex Luthor, Spiderman and the Green Goblin, Batman and er...the various mobsters, gangsters and loonies of Gotham city. I could go on'

'Please don't and LAY OFF THE COMICS BOY!' yelled Folken.

'Well I'm just saying that I can't help it. Me and ol' Dilly are archrivals. I am not gonna be nice to that pyromaniac,' stated Van calmly.

'I didn't say you had to be nice to him. Just don't punch him in the face again.'

'Ah good memories,' relished Van leaning back in his seat. 'Plus he gave me a black eye too remember?'

Folken rubbed his temples. This was not really working. ' Please Van you know how upset mom gets when you get into trouble at school. Just try to restrain yourself a bit, please? Not for me but for mom?'

Van let out a long sigh. 'Fine, but if he starts hitting me I'm not going to take a bashing' he said.

'Well I'll just pray that Dilandau's behaviour has improved over the summer and he is not physically violent anymore,' said Folken realising that there was nothing further he could say.

'You can hope,' grinned Van thinking that Dilandau changing into a nice guy was about as likely as Freeza and Goku swing dancing together. _Hmm maybe Folken's right about the comic book thing._

'And try with the schoolwork thing Van. Just understand we only nag because we care.'

Van sighed. ' Look Folken you just don't get it. I'm not good at maths and essays and academic work like you. I'm just good at sports. What's the point in trying my hardest in English and only getting a C? Why bother? I'm not like you Folken. I'm not a straight-A achieving model pupil like you were, with all your trophies and awards and wanted by every college in a 3-city radius. Why can't you just accept it and leave me the hell alone?'

With that Van got out grabbed his bags and slammed the door angrily. Folken watched his little brother walk away for a while, then he sighed, turned on the ignition and drove away.

Okay so that's the first chapter of my story. The next ones will be longer and hopefully better. I don't know why but Folken strikes me as a silver-Porsche owning guy, so I gave him a silver Porsche. Now Lex Luthor has a silver Porsche in Smallville- I had a phase of being obsessed with Smallville- and he went evil, but please don't think Folken is evil! He's nice in my story! Please review because I'm new to fanfiction and one should always strive to improve.

princessoffairies


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone. Hope you are all fine. Here's the second chapter of my story. I apologise in advance if you happen to find any spelling errors. I did go on Wikipedia to check the spelling of the characters' names, so hopefully the names will be right.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Escaflowne. I don't actually own any TV shows currently but who knows what the future holds?

Changing Perceptions Chapter 2

Sophomore Form Class

'Settle down class, settle down,' boomed the voice of a rather plump red-haired woman who was the head of their year group.

'Right, thank you,' she said in a slightly lower voice as the noise level went down. 'Let me introduce our new student who is joining us today, Hitomi Kanzaki.'

Hitomi walked into the classroom as everyone stared, as everyone always does when a new pupil walks in. Van looked at the girl. She was quite petite with very short light brown hair. It was almost a boyish cut. Her eyes were nice though; they were a deep shade of green. He shrugged it off and turned round to talk to his friend.

Meanwhile poor Hitomi was feeling rather uncomfortable with twenty pairs of teenage eyes fixed on her. _You know it's bad enough being the new girl but now everyone is staring at me. I might as well be wearing a t-shirt that says 'Point at me and whisper' or 'Judge me based solely on my appearance this very second'._ She looked around the classroom and saw boys and girls in uniform, the girls' uniform matching her own. Everyone was wearing grey and brown. Meanwhile the year-head had started talking.

'Now lets have a volunteer to show Hit-MR FANEL WOULD YOU STOP TALKING!'

Hitomi glanced as a boy with tousled-very tousled-black hair and deep brown eyes turned around from talking with a boy with long-extremely long-blond hair, who was sitting in the desk behind him.

'Sorry Miss Koshino, 'he said and even though he was apologising, Hitomi could sense an attitude.

'Anyways, I need someone to show Miss Kanzaki here the campus, show her where her classes are, help her get settled into the school. Lets see…'she glanced around, 'Millerna would you be so kind as to help our new student?'

'Of course Miss,' replied a pretty girl with long blonde wavy hair and ocean blue eyes. She smiled reassuringly at Hitomi who smiled nervously back.

The first half of the morning was spent receiving timetables and getting book lists. Hitomi was seated next to Millerna and she had a chance to talk with her. She seemed really kind.

Soon the students began to talk amongst themselves. Millerna looked at Hitomi who was glancing around the classroom.

'So I'm guessing you want the 411 on these guys?' she asked the girl.

Hitomi looked at her questioningly. Millerna grinned.

'I mean I should tell you who to avoid, who's normal, who's going to try to sell you drugs…'

Hitomi grinned and replied 'that would be good.'

'OK let's start with Dilandau Albatou.' She jerked her head in the direction of an albino-haired boy who was sitting on one side of the classroom, staring glumly at his desk.

'Don't go near him unless you have a thing for temperamental guys with pyromaniac tendencies.'

'Hey that's just the kind of guy I have a fetish for,' joked Hitomi.

Millerna grinned. 'Moving on. Fanel and his little posse sit up the back. Van Fanel is the richest guy in the school and probably the most popular. Most boys look up to him and think he's really cool, and don't get me started on the girls-they're total idiots next to him. His dad Goau Fanel owns 'Fanel Industries' which manufactures military machinery. Personally I think Van's in love with himself. He isn't exactly the brightest either but that wouldn't matter if he was a decent guy.'

'Well you know who he is-the one who the teacher yelled at this morning-and the blond one is Allen and the guy with dark hair is Gaddes. Allen's thinks he's God's gift to women but Gaddes is alright. Together they're the 'three musketeers' of the year. That boy over there is Dryden Fassa. I better tell you something about him; he lives under the delusion that him and me are soul mates. What is it with guys? When you are not even remotely interested they are obsessed with you, but when you actually have feelings for them they are totally clueless.' Millerna stopped when the teacher announced there would be an assembly.

The assembly was led by Principal Dornkirk and was in Hitomi's point of view rather uneventful and long. It was finally lunchtime. She sat with Millerna and they chatted away about themselves and their families.

Hitomi learned that Millerna wanted to be a doctor, had two older sisters Marlene and Eries, and that her parents were in trade. Millerna learned that Hitomi wanted to work for the UN and that her father was an ambassador.

Van, Allen and Gaddes sat at their usual table, which they had somehow 'claimed' during the last year. Everyone knew that they sat there; it was like an essential piece of knowledge for the average Gaea highschooler, like the school song or motto. People just knew that they had to find another table. After exhausting the topic of the holidays-which included a long-winded description of Allen's five holiday romances, something that Van felt was totally unnecessary - talk turned to 'the new girl'.

'What do you think of the new girl?' said Gaddes.

'She's cute especially those eyes,' said Allen.

'I guess she's fairly attractive,' Van said.

'I'm going to go talk to her. Turn on the old Schezar charm eh,' Allen said as he winked.

'I don't think you'll get very far Allen. She'll probably see right through you,' said Gaddes.

'Wanna bet?' retorted Allen

'Nah spent all my money on holiday,' Gaddes replied.

Van snorted and said that he wasn't going to waste his money on some random girl.

'Ah well, here I go.' With that Allen adjusted his hair, popped some spearmint gum in his mouth and walked away.

As they watched him stride away Gaddes remarked grinning, 'I give him 4 minutes.'

THREE MINUTES AND FIFTY-EIGHT SECONDS LATER 

Allen walked back to the table looking rather deflated. Gaddes smirked. 'So, I take it things went well. When's your date?'

'Actually I've decided that she's not the type of girl for me,' Allen said defiantly.

'Oh OK,' Gaddes began, 'was this decision before or after she turned you down?'

Van grinned. Allen had a habit of flirting with practically every girl in the class although he'd never had a long relationship. It felt good to see him get his comeuppance.

After lunch was time for going to the various departments and signing up for any extracurricular activities. Hitomi walked out onto the sports field clutching a form for signing up for teams or squads. It was a good track she noted. She scanned the area for somewhere to sit and fill in the form. She sat down in the stands and began filling it in.

Meanwhile Van, Gaddes and Allen were not too far away ready to sign up for football. Gaddes spotted her first.

'Hey there's Hitomi,' said Gaddes.

'Hey Allen, why don't you go and finalise your date plans?' Van teased.

'Shut up Fanel, like you could do any better,' said Allen crossly.

'Just watch me.' With that Van walked over to Hitomi.

Well that's the second chapter. Tune in next time to see what Van and Hitomi's first meeting will be like (I say tune in but its more like access a internet displaying device, but you know what I mean. It's not as fun to say 'access an internet playing device to see what happens'. I've always wanted to say 'tune in next time', you know like they do on TV with the voiceover. I have this habit of rambling sometimes. It would be nice if you reviewed (the story not my rambling!) Constructive criticism is good. I haven't really written much fiction before so suggestions for improvements are welcome. Till next time.

princessoffairies


	3. Chapter 3

Hello there everyone. I hope you are all well. I want to say thank you to the people who gave me my first ever reviews on fanfiction. So thank you rukz, Arienhod and Sabrina Yutsuki.

Sorry I did not post this sooner, but I have been to the hospital, to the airport, shopping, and duelling with my brother with Harry Potter merchandise. I kept shouting 'EXPECTO PATRONUM' and brandishing my plastic wand. My brother was like 'I'm not a Dementor!' and I was like 'but it's fun to say!' I also hurt my wrist on his Wii console and apparently I'm rubbish playing on it, but in my defence I landed loads of punches (I just had no aim). I love my little brother to bits (even though he forces me to watch Spongebob Squarepants). Anyway I shall stop rambling (I just get carried away) and let you read the story.

Here's the next chapter

Changing Perceptions Chapter 3

Van walked over to Hitomi and stood about a metre away.

'Hi,' he said.

'Hello,' she replied, looking up briefly and then going back to writing on the form.

'So uh welcome to Gaea High. I'm Van Fanel.'

'I know,' she replied, looking at him fully now, 'and I'm Hitomi Kanzaki, which you also know from form class.'

Van thought for a minute. _She doesn't seem to be warming up to the conversation. Maybe I should find something to discuss. _By this time Gaddes and Allen had sauntered over and were looking eagerly at Hitomi.

'Hi Hitomi, I'm Gaddes and this is Allen you met him earlier,' Gaddes said cheerfully.

'Hi,' said Hitomi politely. Van took the opportunity to restart a conversation.

'So what are you doing?' he asked.

'I'm filling in a form for joining the sports clubs. You know medical details and stuff' she said motioning to the form.

'Right. So what are you joining?' Van asked.

Hitomi looked up at him. 'Why don't you guess and I'll tell you if you're right?'

'Umm…'Van began.

'Cheerleading?' asked Allen hopefully.

Hitomi narrowed her eyes. 'What's that supposed to mean? Can't a girl do other sports? Personally I don't want to jump around in a mini-skirt cheering on some group of boys. Boys who would never dream of cheerleading for a girls team.'

'He didn't mean it like that,' Van interjected quickly, ' what he means is you're really pretty.' Apparently that was not the right thing to say because Hitomi looked madder and glared at him.

'What is this? Some dare or bet? See who can flirt the most with the new girl? I really think you ought to have something better to do with your lives. It's quite sad really,' she said with fake sympathy.

Van was getting angry. 'What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you take a compliment?'

'Oh I can Mr Fanel, but only when it is sincere,' Hitomi began, 'and I am wanting to join the track team, just to let you know.'

Van looked at the girl critically. She was slim and petite- she did not seem like a fast runner. 'Are you even a good runner?' he spat out.

'I could beat you in a race any day,' she stated defiantly.

'I highly doubt that,' Van said

Hitomi was getting fed up of this guy. _Just who does he think he is?_ 'Why? Because I'm a girl? Do you think I can't beat you because I'm female?'

' Its not because you're a girl. I'm just really good at sports.'

'Ok OK. So it's not chauvinism that is to blame, but your egotism, 'Hitomi replied scornfully.

Van was getting really cross. This girl had known him for a few minutes and was standing there insulting him like there was no tomorrow. She started to speak again.

'But just to come to an agreement on the matter, I think we should race.'

'So do I.'

'Let's make it a little interesting. If I win you have to stay away from me,' Hitomi said looking straight at him.

Van looked directly at her in return and asked 'and if I win?'

'What could I do for you?'

'Let's see,' said Van tapping his chin, 'hmm… you could apologise for starters, and do my homework for a week.'

'Fine. But I will win. However I'm going to be nice and give you the chance to drop out now.'

'No way. Let's do this.'

'Ok, I'll just go change,' she said grabbing the duffel bag beside her. The three guys stared at her. 'Well I'm not going to race in my school skirt,' she said impatiently and then she strode away. She wasn't sure but she thought she saw Allen looking slightly crestfallen at her last sentence.

Van changed into his gym clothes too, and was coming out of the changing rooms when Gaddes and Allen cornered him.

'So are you going to let her win?' Gaddes asked his friend.

'Not a chance. Who does she think she is, being all high and mighty and judging me? She needs to be taught a lesson.'

Gaddes and Allen looked at each other. They knew of Van's pride and competitiveness. They also knew that while these things were great on the football field, they could also lead to trouble, most notably leading to Van and Dilandau sitting in the nurses office with ice-packs over their injuries.

Hitomi walked back to the track dressed in a loose fitting top and baggy tracksuit pants. The three boys were staring at her again. _Good lord, what is their problem?_ 'What did you think I was going to wear? Hotpants?' She rolled her eyes.

Van and Hitomi decided that they'd race 200metres. Gaddes would start the race and Allen would stand at the finish line and see who crossed first. They took their marks.

The second Gaddes gave the signal, Van sprinted off putting all of his energy into running. Part of the sports he did involved using energy in intense bursts, so that is what he did now. He was determined to put this girl in her place and he felt satisfaction knowing that she was behind him, and he was winning.

Hitomi, being a more experienced runner, started off slightly slower. She knew when she was in the right mode she could accelerate to her maximum speed. For the first 100 metres Van was in the lead. She suddenly started to run faster and overtook him.

Van saw a blur as she sped past and knew he had to run faster. He could only go a little faster though because of the lactic acid that had built up in him. He remained a little behind her for the rest of the race, and she crossed the finish line 2 seconds before he did.

When they had both caught their breath, she looked at him with a slight smile, knowing she had been triumphant. Van himself was thoroughly pissed off, and her smug little smile was not improving his mood.

'I do believe that I've just won. Now would you please adhere to the conditions of our agreement and stay away from me?' she asked politely.

By this time a taller boy with shoulder-length straight brown hair was walking over to them. Van recognized him at once; it was Amano, the captain of the track team.

Amano did not even look at Van, but went straight to Hitomi. 'Hi, I'm Amano. I'm captain of the school's track team. I just watched you race and I insist you join our team, you are an excellent runner.'

'Hi, I'm Hitomi Kanzaki, nice to meet you. I'd love to try out for the team,' she answered.

'Try out? Don't be silly you're already in. I've heard about you from the coach-you're from Mystic Moon city right?' said Amano.

'Yeah,' replied Hitomi.

'We practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4.15 after school. Can you come tomorrow?'

'Sure.'

'Great. See you tomorrow then. Bye Hitomi,' said Amano as he began to walk away.

'Bye,' said Hitomi watching him as he went. She then turned to Van and grinned. Van was standing there with his mouth open gaping at the situation. He saw the triumphant gleam in her eyes. _Oh boy here it comes_ he thought. 'Thanks Fanel, because of you I got on the track team already. Not only that but you won't bug me anymore. Its simply wonderful.' She then dashed off still grinning.

Then Gaddes came running over with his 'gossip monger' face on. This was a look Gaddes often wore, especially after parties that Allen had attended. There was always gossip when Allen went to a party. However Allen never managed to sustain a relationship with any of the girls he met and kissed at parties. 'Van, you know the new girl Hitomi? She is like a track champion! She won competitions at her old school and a city final for her age group and has been in the regionals. I overheard the track team talking.'

'WHAT!' yelled Van, his thoroughly pissed off mood evolving into an angry- as -hell mood. 'She was obviously going to win,' he ranted 'she knew it and challenged me _on purpose, _she tricked me!' he said angrily.

'Well to be fair, she did tell you she was going to win,' said Gaddes simply.

'Oh shut up Gaddes!' yelled Van irritably, storming off. Van thought about Hitomi and how damn annoying she was. _Well at least I won't have to bother with her again. She's the kinda girl that does my head in. I'm glad I promised to stay away._

And he did stay away. At least for about one year and two months.

That was a long chapter. Tune in (well access an internet-displaying device) next time to see what happens. Why do their paths cross? How will they relate to each other now? Will they always hate each other? Hang on a second my story is called 'Changing Perceptions' so you have probably guessed by now! Anyways please review I really appreciate it.

I have to go, my family are trying to get me to see the fifth Harry Potter movie with them. I have not read it, so I'm not sure I want to go because the film might ruin the book for me. But from the trailer it looks good. I'll let you know if I give in to cinematic temptation.

Till next time

princessoffairies


	4. Chapter 4

Hello there folks! I hope you are all fine. To anyone who is following my life story, which I always seem to ramble about, I did go to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was really good, but I feel a bit guilty because I have not read it yet and I gave into the cinematic commercialisation of book characters. Oh well here's the next chapter, hang on I'll type the disclaimer

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Escaflowne or King Lear (you'll understand after reading the chapter)

Changing Perceptions Chapter 4

2 MONTHS INTO JUNIOR YEAR

ENGLISH CLASS

The English teacher Mr Endo stood at the front of the classroom with a big pile of essays in his hand. 'Right class. Time for me to hand back your essays on _King Lear_. Some of you have worked especially hard and have produced wonderful essays about Shakespeare's tragic play, and have shown insight into the themes, issues and characters portrayed. Others still have some work to do, but remember this was only your first draft and you get a chance to improve.' He looked around the class and with great enthusiasm

said loudly 'seize this chance and develop your literary knowledge!' while making wild hand movements.

The class stayed silent. A few pupils including Van rolled their eyes, knowing that Mr Endo tended to get carried away with anything relating to literature. Mr Endo himself gave an embarrassed cough before continuing. 'Ahem. So here they are, graded from A-Plus to F as usual.'

He walked around the classroom, returning essays and having a brief conversation with the recipient about possible improvements. He walked over to Hitomi Kanzaki and beamed at her.

'Hitomi your essay was one of the best I have ever read by a high school student Your study of Lear's character and how he changes through his physical and emotional journey was wonderful. I particularly loved the paragraph about where he realises the unfairness of a capitalistic society. It was marvellous! A-Plus.'

Hitomi blushed and mumbled a thank you, clearly not wanting the attention. Van groaned. _Why oh why do I have to sit behind Miss-Perfect Hitomi Kanzaki, the academic wonder child?_ He hadn't really spoken to her much since her first day, but according to most people she was really nice. That annoyed him, because he couldn't even hate her without people making him feel bad about it. And teachers practically worshipped her, because she was incredibly clever and polite. He looked at her. Her hair was past her shoulders now, and it was tied up in a ponytail as usual. She was taller but still petite. She wasn't bad looking he had to admit. Van's train of thoughts stopped abruptly when Mr Endo walked over to his own desk looking grim.

'Fanel, please see me after class,' was all he said, placing Van's essay on his desk. Van looked at his grade. He had got an F. _Great, just great_ he thought bitterly. He wasn't expecting an A- he had written the essay quickly the night before it was due, with the aid of a _lot_ of caffeine-but he was hoping to scrape a D. He looked over at Allen who had somehow-and lord knows how he did it-managed to salvage a C-Plus. He was now high fiving Gaddes who had received a D.

After class Van waited until all the other pupils had left the classroom. He figured if he was going to be told of his perpetual dumbness, it was best to do it without an audience. He walked slowly to Mr Endo's desk and in a bored voice said 'yes, Sir?'

'Van, I am sure that you know what this is about. Did you even try for this essay?'

'Yeah, I did.'

'Really? Because this looks like a case of done-in-a-hurry-the-night-before if there ever was one.'

'Look I'll do it over.'

Mr Endo sighed and looked up at Van over the rim of his spectacles. 'Last year was the same, Van. Your essays are not of the standard required for this class.'

'Well maybe I'll just drop this class.'

'I don't think that's an option Van. You need to pass English this year, that is if you want to stay in the same year group and graduate with your friends.'

'So what do you want me to do?' asked Van getting frustrated.

'I suggest you take my advice and get a tutor.'

Van stared at him in disbelief but Mr Endo carried on regardless. 'Some of our students tutor in free lessons and after school. A tutor will help you by discussing themes and help you develop your ideas about literature.'

'No way am I getting a tutor,' stated Van, 'I have training and…er things to do after school.'

'It's your choice Fanel. Get a student tutor and improve your work or we can call your parents and discuss it with them.'

'Fine. I'll get a tutor,' grumbled Van.

'Good boy. I'll just see which students are available,' said Mr Endo, before he begun to rummage around in his desk drawer. Finally he pulled out several pink sheets of paper stapled together. After studying it for about a minute, he smiled at Van. 'You are in luck, there is a student free and she's even in our class. Hitomi Kanzaki.'

After walking out the classroom Van tried to process everything. Hitomi Kanzaki was going to be his tutor. He would be forced to spend free lessons and after school sessions doing English with annoying Miss Perfect. It would be hell on Earth.

Well that's chapter 4. In the next one the tutoring will begin. Please review and see you next time.

princessoffairies


	5. Chapter 5

Hello there everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I want to say sorry I have not updated in so long, but I was on holiday in Italy and I did not have access to a computer. I did think about my story though (you know it's amazing what one can think while sweating outside an Italian airport!) and I even wrote some of a later chapter on a train from Florence to Rome. I had a great time and Italy was very pretty. I was completely hyper today at dinner (probably because we were having fishcakes which I love) and I was singing stuff by The Killers and Snow Patrol loudly (does anyone else like those bands?). Anyway I've calmed down a wee bit (I live in Scotland) and so here we go.

Changing Perceptions Chapter 5

Later on that day Hitomi went to see Mr Endo who had asked for her.

'I was told you had a student who needs help in English, Sir,' said Hitomi politely.

'Indeed. It's Van Fanel, from our English class.'

'Van Fanel,' Hitomi repeated slowly unable to keep the surprise out of her voice.

'Is that going to be a problem? We can always try to find someone else, but really I don't think there is anyone else, and honestly you are probably the best person for the job.'

'No, its no problem at all,' Hitomi said quickly not wanting to disappoint her teacher.

'Great. Miss Sasaki has his timetable so you can work out when you'll get together.'

'Ok.'

'Thank you Hitomi,' he said as his next class started to enter the room.

Outside the classroom Hitomi could process her thoughts. She had not really had much contact with Van since the whole incident on her first day. He had never tried to be nice to her and in her mind he was still arrogant and proud and really infuriating. And because he was blessed with great athletic ability, a lot of people seemed to love him (well in the student body at least, the faculty was another story, with the exception of the Coach who thought that Van was sent from the heavens by the gods of football). Most teachers, she knew, disliked him because he did not exactly care much about his education (and that was a huge understatement). _Tutoring Van Fanel? This will be an experience for sure._

The first tutoring meeting was on a Wednesday straight after school. There Van and Hitomi would discuss the times they could get together and make a work plan for Van. At least that is what Van had found out from Mr Endo, Hitomi had not actually spoken to him about it. So after school had finished on Wednesday Van loitered around in the cloakroom, wanting to make this whole situation disappear. Gaddes and Allen stayed with him for about 5 minutes but they were not much help, they kept cracking up because they found the whole tutoring issue rather amusing. Ten minutes after they left Van was still in the cloakroom debating whether he should go when a sudden thought hit him. _Shit! She might tell Endo that I did not turn up. I'll get into more trouble. _So he then dashed off, running as fast as his powerful athletic legs could carry him, which was very fast, to room 4A. Hitomi was sitting there serenely reading a pile of papers in her hand. She looked up at him and looked unpleased.

'You're late, I've been waiting for you for ages,' she said curtly.

'Of course you have,' he drawled suggestively and plopped down into the seat next to her. She rolled her eyes.

'First of all you can cut the crap Fanel. I don't care if everyone else here sees you as some kind of lord or king. To me you are just a guy who is failing English and wants my help.'

'Hang on one second,' Van began the anger evident in his tone, 'I don't _want_ your help. I never _wanted_ it. Your help was _forced_ on me by Mr Endo.'

'Well even if you don't want my help you are in dire need of it,' she said and quickly waved a bit of paper in his face before he could respond to her last remark. 'I made up a tutoring schedule using our timetables.'

'Great,' Van said with no enthusiasm, not even looking at the piece of paper.

'And I went to Coach and asked for the sports timetable so tutoring won't clash with football practice or games,' she said.

'You did?' Van asked surprised. That was almost nice of her he thought. Van expected Hitomi would make tutoring clash with his other activities and try to mess up his life.

'Umm thanks,' he said deciding that it was pretty thoughtful of her.

'Hey I didn't do it for you,' said Hitomi. 'Can you imagine what the pep squad would do to me if the team's star player missed practice and lost his game because of his tutoring sessions with me? They would probably burn me at the stake.'

Van couldn't help but grin. The image of the cheerleaders and the dragon mascot running after Hitomi with torches and pitchforks was rather funny.

'Ah well you know the pep squad, full of spirit,' he said jokingly.

'Unfortunately I do. Especially now Millerna's on the squad.'

'She is?' asked Van incredulously.

'Yeah. Needs extracurricular activities for medical school.'

'I see,' he said while he thought. _People are thinking about college already?_

'It's not that I don't love the school, and I love Milly to bits. It's just that she practices the cheers with me. And there are only so many times you can hear:

Gaean dragons breathe your fire

Take our team higher and higher

Spread your wings and take flight

We are gonna win this fight'

She gave a mock cheer. Van looked at her and he didn't know why but he responded.

'Hey I hear it every week!'

'But do you actually hear it? Isn't your head in the game?'

'Yeah you're right,' he said thoughtfully. 'When I'm playing I just focus completely on the game. I don't see or think about anything else. It's like I'm in a different world.'

A silence fell over the two of them. They were both surprised; they had actually had an almost normal conversation.

'So is the schedule alright?' Hitomi asked stopping the silence.

Van glanced down. It was written in Hitomi's pretty neat manuscript:

Tue: Period 5(Free Period)

Wed: After school 3.15-4.15pm

Thurs: 3.15-3.55pm

'It's fine.'

'Right let's talk about work. Our main focus is going to be the redraft of your _King Lear_ essay and the reading of _Wuthering Heights_.' Hitomi pulled a brand new book out of her backpack and handed it to him. Van read the cover ' _Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte'._ Hitomi looked at him and began talking again. 'We're starting this tomorrow, in English. We've got three weeks to read the book and then eight weeks to write an essay on our chosen theme. This essay is worth twenty-five percent of our grade this year. Mr Endo gave me your copy to give to you today.'

'Have you read this book?' Van questioned, thinking that the book didn't look very interesting.

'Yeah. Four times actually.'

'God. How many essays have you done on this book?'

'None. I just love it.'

'Right.'

'So how long will it take you to finish it?' Hitomi asked 'Just a rough estimate?'

'I'll go to the store tonight,' said Van.

Hitomi looked at him confused and questioned him. 'Why would you need to go to a store? I'm giving you the book right now.'

Van rolled his eyes and snorted. 'I'm not actually going to read it. I'll drop by the video store tonight and rent the film. Are there any good-looking actresses in it?'

Hitomi stared at him even more confused. 'You're not going to read it? How are you supposed to write about it when you haven't even read it?'

'Well I'll watch the film. It'll be just as good.'

Hitomi was starting to get cross. 'Van, you know they miss out chunks of the novels and change things for the convenience of the film studio? And you won't get the feel of the writing and it's such a beautiful story and…'she tried to find the right words, 'it's just _wrong_.' She looked at him straight in the eye and her voice rose 'I won't let you do it. In fact Van Fanel I FORBID YOU TO RENT THE MOVIE INSTEAD OF READING IT!'

Van laughed out loud. For him it was amusing to see someone get so worked up about something like this. 'What are you going to do? Tie me up, hold my eyes open and turn the pages in front of me?' he questioned her.

'No,' she said, 'but I will refuse to tutor you.'

'Great. I'll just find someone else.'

'I'm pretty sure there's no other tutor free and I could always spread the word that you're a difficult student and put any possible candidates off,' she said sweetly.

'So?' Van retorted.

'I know that without a tutor, Mr Endo would need to have a nice long discussion with your parents about your academic future in English class. Would you like that Van?'

Van stayed silent but his mind was fuming.

Hitomi took his silence as a no. 'Well if you don't want that, you have to read the book. I'm going to be checking up on you and asking questions.'

'That's blackmail!' Van said outraged.

'I guess you could call it that. I see it as being cruel to be kind. That's all we had to discuss. Happy reading and I'll see you tomorrow. Start the book TONIGHT,' she said and with that she packed her bag and strode off.

Van left the classroom a couple of minutes later, mumbling curses under his breath. When he got home he was feeling really pissed off with everything.

'How was school, honey?' asked his mom as usual. Van replied with his usual grunt. Folken was sitting reading a copy of 'Genetics Monthly' and taking notes, while eating a bowl of organic dried apricots. He greeted Van over the top of the magazine. Van went to the kitchen cupboard and got out the biggest bag of crisps he could find. He plopped down on the living room couch and channel surfed while eating. He found out there was a James Bond marathon on. He had a think._ Hmm. Read some book about romance in the English moors or watch a Bond marathon?_ He decided to go with the latter and decided he didn't care what the hell Hitomi did to him. He wasn't scared he thought, quickly cramming a huge handful of crisps into his mouth before he could think anymore about it. _Good Lord,_ he thought, _she's got me comfort eating._

Well that's the 5th chapter. I am finishing typing this on a different day then when I started it. I am calmer now-I'm not high all the time, I do hit rock bottom as well. When this happens I find myself watching re-runs of MTV reality shows (that are not even good anyway) and drinking my comfort drinks (pineapple juice and orange squash, separately not together) and eating my current comfort food. Anyways I have to go somewhere with my family. I will try to start typing the next chapter later today, but my mum is forcing me to clean up my mess because we have loads of relatives coming. Right see you all soon!

princessoffairies

P.S. I was going to have Van watch an Indiana Jones Marathon but I wasn't sure how many movies there were of Indiana Jones, and I had to make sure that the marathon took a long time. So I went with a Bond movie marathon, because there are loads of them (even though I have never seen one).


End file.
